Improvement in ironing and polishing boards



' L. MOONEY 8:. D. W. YOUNG.

\ IRONING AND POLISHING BOARDS.

-No.182,946. Patented Oct. 3, T87'6.

Fig.1. Fig.2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIGE.

- LAWRENCE MOONEY AND DANIEL W. YOUNG, OF ALLEGHENY, PA.

IMPROVEMENT IN IRONING AND POLISHING BOARDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 182,946, dated October 3, 1876; application filed January 25, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LAWRENCE MOONEY and DANIEL W. YOUNG, of Allegheny city, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Shirt-Boards and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, in which Figure l is a top view. Fig. 2 is a bottom View. Fig. 3 isa transverse vertical section. Fig. 4 is a side elevation, with broken section.

This invention relates to the construction of polishing and ironing boards for shirts and other articles; and consists, chiefly, in the following points First, constructing a polishing-board with a curved working-surface; secondly, covering it with a polished or smooth metallic sheet; and, thirdly, the specific construction of the clamp to operate with either.

We construct the polishingboard with its surface curved either transversely, longitudinally, or both-i. 6., convex; but we prefer it curved only transversely. The object in this is to effect economy of tools, for the plain flat polishing-surfaces now used require a flat iron for smoothing and a convex iron for polishing. These convex irons are not in every house, and besides require skill in their manipulation. We do away with them by our construction, so that the polishing may be done with the ordinary flat-iron. The curved board takes the place and. performs the functions of a convex iron in presenting but a small surface of the article at a time to the polishing action; but when transversely curved it has the advantage of giving greater uniformity to the polish.

When the board is made of wood or other material not fit for a polishing-surface, we-

assists and facilitates the operation to a considerable degree. In addition to these advantages, the metal, being a good conductor, abstracts heat from the iron and diffuses it over the under side of the article on the board, thus causing it to dry more quickly, and, of course, making it more easy to be polished. For those who already possess the convex irons the curve may be dispensed with, and still a superior surface is presented. We next apply to the back of the board (which must be smooth and regular) a covering of cotton-batting and muslin, or other suitable material, so as to adapt it to use as an ordinary ironingboard for shirts, collars, &c. Thus constructed, a single cheap substitute is obtained for what now requires two different apparatusone for ironing and one for polishing.

Our clamping device is placed in the under or ironing side of the board. It is simply a transverse slot in the board, whose cross-section is a trapezoid, as in Fig. 4:, and in which is fitted loosely a strip of corresponding shape, both having the sloping side next the foot of the board. The strip is hinged, as shown, so that it opens toward the head of the board. To use it, when the shirt is on the polishingsurface the tail is drawn down over the end, tucked in under the strip, which is then closed upon it. This action does not tear or strain the bosom, as is evident from inspection. To clamp while on the ironing side the operation is similar, only the shirt is not drawn over the foot of the board, but is clamped on the same side.

Referring to the drawings, A is the board; a, the curved surface, covered with sheet metal, for polishing. b is the covering of cotton-batting and muslin, or other material, on the reverse side, for ironing purposes. 0 is the transverse slot for the clamping-strip d, which is hinged, as shown.

Thus constructed, we have a useful implement in the polisher, cheapened and rendered more useful still by the addition of an ironingsurface, and both can be used with the ordinary flat-iron; and when it is taken into consideration that every housewife has a number of flat-irons, while few have polishing-irons, and that it is impossible to properly polish with two flat surfaces, it at once becomes ap- 3. The combination, with the shirt-board A,

having a transverse beveled recess, 0, in its under surface, of the correspondingly-beveled clamping-strip d, hinged at its inner edge to the under side of the board, and fitting said recess, substantially as shown and described. In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto set our hands this 5th day of January, 1876.'

LAWRENCE MOONEY. DANIEL W. YOUNG. Witnesses:

T. F. MoGLINTooK, THOMAS T. SPRU- 

